The Wolf and the Mayan Demon
by SWWoman
Summary: A love that endures after nearly two millennia should be a romantic, right? But love isn't always a positive thing, sometimes it turns into an obsession that can destroy whatever is in it's path. Team Machine is standing in the path of a very ancient obsession. The latest in the Wolf Series, including a crossover with Sleepy Hollow.
1. Chapter 1

**The Wolves are back! I'll be posting on Monday and Thursday like I did last time. This fic is completely written, there are 9 chapters total.**

 **Thanks to my beta nicdvidmaker** **for reading this over and pointing the typos and the plot hole. (Plot hole has been plugged!)**

 **As always, if you recognize it from the show it's not mine.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Prologue- Found Again**

He had been searching for so long, he had despaired of ever finding her. She had been calling to him to come for her for many years. He tried, God knows he tried. He had trekked across a continent, through jungles, and over mountains looking for her.

He dreamed of her at night. He dreamed of her kisses, he dreamed of her body against his, and he dreamed of making slow gentle love to her. Every morning he woke up, his determination to find her was renewed and refreshed.

He _would_ find her. They _would_ be together again.

Finally one day it happened. On a hot and humid mountain top in a tropical forest in Central America, he discovered a pyramid shaped tomb and he knew he had found her at last. He nearly dropped to his knees in relief and joy.

"You did it Professor!" one of his students breathed in awe. "It was right where you said. How did you know?"

He smiled. "Divine intervention."

He immediately began directing his students to set up camp and begin surveying the site. They scurried around the mountain top, doing their professors bidding, excited by their historic find. The professor watched with a light heart, knowing it wouldn't be long before he was reunited with his long lost love.

They entered the pyramid, the first humans to do so in nearly two millennia. It took almost a week to break through to the burial chamber, it had to be done with great care and every step was documented with video and still pictures according to proper archeological practice.

He took a deep breath as he stepped into the burial chamber for the first time in fifteen hundred years. He paused at the base of the steps that lead down into the chamber as his eyes took in the room. It was just as he remembered it. It wasn't huge, only fifteen feet by nine feet with an arched stone ceiling.** The space was almost completely filled by a limestone sarcophagus. At one end was the skeleton of a woman, a servant selected and sacrificed to follow her mistress into Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. At the other end was the skeleton of boy who was perhaps eleven years old, another insignificant servant sacrificed so he could see to his mistress's comfort in the next world.

The servants were unimportant, he only had eyes for the final resting place of his beloved. He was so close.

It took several days to move the heavy stone lid and open the magnificent sarcophagus. First the servants' skeletons had to be cataloged and removed to make room for the professor and his students to work. Then an elaborate pulley system had to be carefully installed to cause a minimum of damage to the chamber. Only then could they attempt to open the sarcophagus. Even with the pulley system it took several hours to carefully inch the lid open enough so they could see the inside.

He had finally found her. Her skeleton was surrounded by precious jade and pearl beads, bone needles and shells that he remembered had once been necklaces and bracelets. Her skull was circled by a diadem of jade beads and her face was covered by an elaborate malachite funeral mask. He dropped to his knees and tenderly ran his finger along her jaw. He felt a tingle run up his arm straight to his chest. After nearly so many centuries they were finally reunited.

"Is she a princess?" The special moment was interrupted by an over-eager student.

He withdrew his hand, but kept his eyes on her. "Yes, yes she was."

That night she came to him in his tent. Her spirit was a pale shadow of what the living woman had been, but it was HER.

"I've waited so long," she sighed.

"I came as soon as I could," he replied.

She touched his face and he felt the tingle again. Stronger this time. "You know what to do," she said softly and vanished.

Yes, he knew.

He carefully directed his students in cataloging and packing the artifacts, including her remains. The artifacts would be flown off the mountain to the nearest city via helicopter, where they would be loaded onto a plane for transport back to the US for study.

As they were packing, he waited for his chance. He finally saw it when the annoying student who had broken into his first moment with his love in fifteen hundred years wandered too close the edge of a very high, steep cliff as she was taking pictures. All it took was one tiny little shove and that irritating little bitch would never disrupt another tender moment again. He listened with satisfaction as she screamed all the way down.

The Guatemalan authorities collected the body from the base of the cliff and put it on the next plane for the states. The mood in the camp went from joyous at having discovered an intact Mayan tomb to somber at the death of one their own. The camp had a memorial service for the lost expedition member and then he gathered his students around, gravely intoning that she would want them to continue their work. Then everyone agreed and returned to tents to rest and prepare to resume their excavation.

He returned to his tent to find his lover waiting for him in corporeal form this time. "You've done well, my love," she murmured and then she kissed him.

Feeling his lover's lips on his after so long broke something in the man; with a groan he pulled her to him, grinding his hips against hers. She responded by pulling his shirt off and before he knew it, they were naked. He led her to his cot, where she lay down and held her arms to him. He lay on top of her and slowly, reverently entered her.

They spent the night making love to each other. In the morning when he woke, she was gone. He had expected it, but he was still disappointed. He knew the student's life force was only so powerful, only enough for one night. But he knew where there were life forces that were much stronger, much more powerful, enough for several days. Once enough life forces had been consumed, she could stay forever.

"Soon my love, soon," he sighed.

* * *

 ****My description of the tomb is based on an actual Mayan tomb known as the Tomb of the Red Queen. Currently her true identity is undetermined, but the theory is that she was the wife of Pakal the Great, co-ruler of the city-state Palenque during it's most prosperous period.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone for the terrific response to Chapter 1! Shout out to the Guest reviewers since I can't respond to you personally, but I appreciate you!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - The First Victim**

Captain Moreno stopped at Joss's desk holding a slip of paper, and Joss knew what that meant, a new case. She sighed. She was already behind on three other cases.

"Whatcha got?" Fusco asked as he stood next to the Captain reaching for the slip of paper.

"Mummy found in the Bronx," Moreno said as she relinquished the paper to Fusco.

"We're detectives, not archeologists!" he grumbled as he read the paper.

Joss leaned back in her chair and arched her eyebrow at the captain. "Last time I checked, the precincts in the Bronx had lots of detectives assigned to them. Any reason why WE are being called out?"

Moreno glared back. "The vic is Wolf and you two are the most experienced in the department in dealing with Wolf cases, so the brass wants you on it. You better get moving, the techs waiting for you at the crime scene."

"Oh yeah we're the new Muldar and Scully," Fusco growled as Moreno walked away.

Joss snickered. "That makes John, Sam, and Harold the Lone Gunman!"

"You know they died, right?" Fusco grinned as he stepped over to his computer and shut it down.

Joss grinned back. "Yes I know. They sacrificed themselves heroically to prevent a deadly disease from escaping. I cried watching that episode." She shrugged on her coat. "Let's go."

Joss didn't want to admit to her partner, but she was rather eager to see the mummy and work on this case. It wasn't their usual kind of case and Joss's natural curiosity was on overdrive.

"We cannot be the only Wolf detectives on a force this size," Fusco grumbled in the car on the way to crime scene.

"We're not. I know of several others, but we're the only 'out' Wolves" Joss explained as she negotiated a turn.

"I say we out the other Wolves and let them do their fair share," Fusco snapped, making Joss laugh.

They arrived at the address, an empty lot, to find it bustling with police activity. As soon as they were out of the car, they were approached by a tall man whose credentials hanging from his neck identified him as Detective Gary Linander.

"Fusco, long time no see," The large, burly Swede shook his hand. "You only get uglier."

"And you only get fatter," Fusco shot back. "This is Joss Carter, my partner." He turned to Joss. "Linander and I were rookie patrolmen together."

"Call me Gary," Linander said as his huge hand engulfed Joss's much smaller one.

"Thank you Gary, call me Joss," Joss smiled back. Despite the fact that Linander was so big, his handshake was delicate and Joss appreciated the fact the he wasn't trying to crush her hand.

Linander dropped his hand and jerked his head in the direction of the hub of activity. "Follow me, I'll show you the body. I gotta say this is one time I don't mind having to hand off a case; this one gives me the creeps."

"How so?" Joss asked she fell into step with the large man.

"The body's been mummified somehow, and mummies freak me out," the big guy shuttered.

"You must be a blast at Halloween," Fusco grunted as he followed them.

Linander patted his ample stomach. "I'm more of a Christmas guy. I play Santa every year for the family." He ducked under the crime scene tape, followed by Joss and Fusco. "Here we are."

Looking down at the victim, Joss had to admit that Linander had a point, the mummified remains were creepy as hell. The victim looked like they had died in pain, judging from the agonized expression on their face. The skin had shrunk as it dried so it was stretched tightly over the bones of the face. The hands, the only other part of the body visible through the clothing, looked shriveled and dry as well. The body was curled into the fetal position as if they had been trying to protect themselves from whatever had killed them.

Joss and Fusco both pulled on gloves and knelt down to examine the body closer. It was male, but with the skin in the condition it was in, Joss didn't want to hazard a guess as to how old he was. Since he had a full head of thick black hair with no gray, he was probably younger rather than older.

"We were told the victim was Wolf, how did you know that?" Joss asked as she sat back on her haunches so she could look up at the tall Swede.

Linander took a plastic bag with a man's wallet out of his coat pocket and tossed it to her. "He had his wallet on him, so I ran his name as soon as I got here. He's Peter Yoshida. He had a DUI and resisting arrest 'bout ten years ago and his arrest records noted he was Wolf. As soon as we saw that, the brass decided to call you."

Joss and Fusco spent the next several minutes examining the body and immediate area for clues, while Linander watched and answered questions. Then Linander asked one of his own. "When did you become a Wolf, Fusco?"

Fusco didn't look up. He got that question a lot once he decided to stop hiding his Wolf status. "Few years ago, about a year before HR went down."

"Do you like it?" Linander was curious.

"Yeah, yeah I do. It feels good, and I have a pack of friends." Fusco looked up at his old colleague. "Joss here is an Alpha; she can turn you if you want."

Linander shook his head. "Nah, I seen how Wolves get treated. I ain't signing up for that."

He knelt down next to Joss. "There is something you should see, I'm not sure if it's a Wolf thing or not." Very carefully he moved the man's shirt collar out of the way allowing Joss and Fusco to see a strip of leather around the man's neck.

"What the …?" Fusco exclaimed as he moved more of the shirt collar out the way to see that the man was wearing a leather collar marked with some sort of strange symbols and held in place by a small locked padlock of the type a traveler would use to lock their suitcase.

"That is definitely NOT a Wolf thing," Joss said emphatically. "Hold his shirt out of the way Fusco, I need to get some pictures."

Fusco obediently held the man's shirt back so Joss could get several pictures. Then with the permission of the coroner on scene, they turned the body over so Joss could get shots of the entire collar.

"What do you think that is?" Fusco asked.

Joss shook her head. "I have no idea, but I'll send the pictures to our mutual friends. Maye they'll have some idea."

Joss stood up. "I have to make a phone call, be right back."

She moved away from the crime scene until she was satisfied she was far enough away so she would not be overheard, then she punched the first number on her phone.

"Hello Detective."

Out of a long established habit, John Reese continued to call her "Detective" over the phone even though they had been mated for some time and had a cub together. Despite the fact that their association was several years old, John Reese's soft voice never failed to make her shiver in the best way possible.

"You busy?"

"Not really, we're waiting for our number to get out of bed. Shaw's eating. Why?"

"We pulled a weird case. We have a dead mummified Wolf."

"Mummified? How so?" Joss could feel John's interest was piqued through their mating bond.

"He's dried out, shriveled up, like someone sucked all the moisture out him. From the look on his face, I'd say he was alive when it happened and it was a very painful death. He was also wearing a collar with some symbols on it and we're not sure if that's related."

Finch broke into the conversation at that point. "If you have pictures Detective, send them to me and I'll see if I can decipher them."

"I was hoping you would say that Finch," Joss smiled even though she was wondering when she had gotten so used to the loss of privacy that she now _expected_ Finch to listen in on her conversations.

With the push of a button, the pictures were winging their way to the computer genius. Joss turned and walked back to the crime scene.

* * *

That night Joss arrived home to find chaos in the spacious apartment their family called The Bunker for its high tech security. John was in his Wolf form pretending to stalk their toddler cub Cali, also in her Wolf form. Cali was happily scuttling around the large room that served as the living room/dining room/ kitchen, sliding on the hardwood floor when she tried to corner too sharply. John was taking a more leisurely pace as he followed her since his long legs meant he was taking one stride to Cali's four.

Joss watched with a wide smile on her face. If only the law breakers of the city who trembled in fear at the mention of "The Man in the Suit" could see him now. Here inside their home, he was a tender, loving husband and father. He reveled in family life, a life he once longed for but thought he could never have. Consequently he cherished his time with his mate and cubs like few others did.

It didn't take long for Cali to notice that her mother was home and she ran up to Joss with her tail wagging, her tongue hanging out, and a large grin on her little Wolf face. The toddler morphed into her human form to address her mother. "Mama! Pway wid us!" She demanded as she hopped up and down.

Joss laughed at the sight of the happy, butt-naked toddler. "Let me change out of my clothes and I'll be right out."

Cali, happy with the answer morphed back to Wolf and scurried back to her father. John gave Joss a wink then resumed playing with his cub.

Joss went to the master bedroom to remove her clothing. She closed her eyes and felt the breeze across her skin as she assumed the shape of the black She Wolf. She bounded out to the living room to begin her three way romp with her mate and her cub.

After a spirited play session little Cali was almost asleep on her tiny paws. Joss settled down on the plush rug in front of the electric fireplace and Cali snuggled up to her mother, falling asleep instantly. John curled around his family, laying his chin on Joss's back. The three of them were soon asleep in a happy pile of Wolf family.

* * *

 **We needed some happy time with Cali, before things get really grim later. Before anyone asks where Taylor was, he was out with friends. You'll see him later in the story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Smut alert! Noticed I changed the rating to M. Somehow I don't think any of you mind.**

* * *

 ****

 **Chapter 3 - Bess**

The next morning found Joss and Fusco canvasing the neighborhood where Yoshida's body was found, looking for any possible witnesses when Joss's phone rang. Seeing that it was a call from a blocked number she smiled and answered it.

"Hello, Detective." John's soft voice sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. Fusco glanced over at her, rolled his eyes, and walked off to give her some privacy.

"Hello," she purred back, hoping she had the same effect on him (She did.) "What's up?"

"I've tracked down Peter Yoshida's pack."

"That was fast."

"Some things are just better handled Alpha to Alpha." Joss could hear the shrug in John's voice. She had to giggle at Wolf culture, but he was right, being an Alpha opened doors.

"Yoshida ran with the pack out of little Japan in the East Village," John continued. "His parents had been members and his sister is still a member. He missed the last Pack Night, but no one thought anything of it since he was a janitor at the Cineplex. They figured he'd had to work."

"That's helpful to know. Given the mummified state of the body, CeCe is having trouble pinning down how long he's been dead. The last full moon was about two and half weeks ago, so we now know he's been dead at least that long."

"His Alpha gave me his sister's name and number I'll text them to you."

"Thanks babe. You've been a big help."

"You're welcome, Detective." John's voice caressed the word "Detective" like Joss hoped he would caress various part of her body later. Joss wondered if he knew how his voice affected her; she suspected that he did.

* * *

Unfortunately Yoshida's sister was unable to help. He had no enemies that she knew of and since being arrested for some petty crimes several years prior, he had led a very quiet life. Joss and Fusco were stymied.

Over the next couple of weeks, three more bodies were discovered in various locations around New York. One washed up the on banks of the East River, one was found in another empty lot in another sketchy part of the city and one was found in a forested area on Long Island. The first two victims were Wolf, but just when Joss, Fusco and Moreno were all convinced they were tracking a serial killer who targeted Wolves, the killer threw them a curve ball.

"He's not Wolf?" Joss stared at Coroner CeCe Wallace incredulously.

CeCe shook her head. "Sorry girl. I ran the test twice to be sure, unlike your other vics, he wasn't a Wolf."

"Do we have an ID on him at least?" Fusco asked.

CeCe nodded. "Finger prints were intact enough for that. He's Siad Barre, he's a Somali immigrant who had been working as a hot dog vendor since he entered the country. Never in any trouble with the law, no record." CeCe handed over a picture that looked like it had been taken off his Green Card.

Joss and Fusco left the morgue pondering this new development. "Barre has to be supernatural somehow," Joss mused.

Fusco nodded. "My gut tells me you're right, but until we know what he was, we don't know how he fits in."

"I know someone who does extensive volunteer work with Somali refugees who might be able to tell us something."

"Who might that be?"

"The Crosses."

"Then let's go. You're driving," Fusco grinned.

The Parking Gods were smiling on them that day, Joss found a parking spot right in front of the Crosses' building. Joss took a second after she turned off the car to take a few deep breaths.

"She's not still mad at you?" Fusco asked.

After Bill Cross had been hurt in a fight with the Headless Horseman**, Bess had blamed John and Joss for her mate's injuries. They had asked him for his help, and while he had freely given it to them, Bess had still been furious at them "for dragging him into that mess." Bill had tried to reason with his mate, but Bess was having none of it. By contrast Bill held John and Joss completely blameless and remained friends with them. They met occasionally for lunch under the guise of "Alpha business," but Bess had shown no sign of forgiveness. "Give her time, she'll come around," Bill would say.

Joss mourned the loss of the friendship, Bess had taken her under her wing and helped the new Alpha understand her responsibilities and the new culture she had been thrust into with no prior knowledge or preparation. Joss had had a rocky start with her pack after John, in his typical fashion, had brought her in without observing the usual protocols for introducing a new Alpha and pack member, and that had naturally generated some resentment. A former lover of John's had used that resentment against Joss and nearly killed her****. Bess's advice to the newly turned Wolf had been invaluable in helping Joss assume her new position and integrate into the pack. The loss of her friend and mentor had hurt Joss deeply and she was dreading having to face her former friend again.

But now Joss had to put her personal feelings aside. She had a case to solve and she suspected that the Crosses had information they needed.

Looking up, Joss saw the curtains in the window of the Crosses front room flutter as if someone had moved them to look out. She reached out with her Wolf sense, feeling for Bess. She sensed Bess's confusion as to why the detectives would be there. Unfortunately still plenty of animosity there as well; Bess was not going to make this easy for her.

"Yup she's still mad at me," Joss sighed. "Let's get this over with."

They got out of the car and climbed the stairs to the second floor apartment. Just as Joss raised her hand to knock Bess ripped open the door. "An Alpha always brings their mate, not a Beta, when calling on another Alpha, you know that," she snapped.

Joss glared right back, "I'm not here as an Alpha, I'm here as a _cop_ and Lionel is my _partner_."

Bill came up behind Bess and firmly pulled the door open. "Come in Joss. Lionel, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Mr. Cross," Lionel replied politely as they entered the apartment. "You're all healed up."

"It was clean break, hardly took any time to mend," Bill said pointedly while looking at his mate. Bess merely made a small, barely audible rude noise and went to sit in her favorite armchair, obviously sulking.

Bill sat in the well-worn chair next to hers while Joss and Lionel took seats on the couch across from them. "How can we help you, detectives?" He asked, emphasizing their titles.

Joss handed Bill the picture of Barre. "Do you know this man? I understand you do a lot of work with Somali refugees."

Bill looked at the photo. "Siad Barre. A good man, never in any trouble. What did he do?"

"I'm sorry, Bill, he's dead." Joss handed over the picture of Barre's mummified corpse.

Bess had been pretending she wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but she could not resist a peek at the picture and gasped in horror when she looked at the photo. "What happened to him?"

"We're not sure yet, But he's the fourth victim to turn up like this. The other three were Wolves." Lionel explained. "We were hoping you could tell us more about this guy. He wasn't Wolf so we don't know how he fits in with the killer's M.O."

Bill handed the photos back to Joss and leaned back in his chair. "You're right he wasn't Wolf, but he wasn't a regular human either. He was a shaman, a very strong one at that."

"You mean he was like a priest?" Lionel asked, unable to hide his surprise.

Bess nodded, her sulk forgotten. "More like a wizard. He had strong supernatural powers, much like your Mr. Crane. We could feel it as soon as we got near him."

"Did he have any enemies?"

Bill shook his head. "He'd kept a very low profile since coming to this country. Not many of us knew he was a shaman. We only knew because he sensed we were Wolf, and he wanted to talk to us." Bill paused. "He was lonely, he lost his family and friends in the civil war. He needed someone to talk to, someone who understood him."

"Bill have you seen anything like this before?" Joss asked, tapping the picture of Barre's mummified corpse. "John hasn't, and the coroner can't find any evidence of what killed him or the other victims."

Bill shook his head. "Babe, I'm sixty eight years old and I ain't never seen nothing like this before. But then again, I avoid the dark stuff." He glanced over at Bess and she shook her head, indicating she'd never seen anything like this before either.

Joss and Lionel stood up. "Thanks, you've been a huge help," Lionel said as they headed for the door.

Just as Joss was about to walk out the door when Bess called out, "Joss!"

Joss turned and looked at Bess, a question in her eyes.

Bess looked squarely at her friend. "Be careful. Whoever did this to Siad is powerful, very powerful. He was a strong man. If they got to him…" She didn't finish her sentence but she didn't need to.

"Thank you Bess," Joss said. She walked out the apartment with big smile on her face.

Bill reached over and patted Bess's hand.

* * *

"That went better than I expected," Fusco commented as he and Joss climbed back in their car. "It's about time that old battle axe thawed out."

"Be respectful, Fusco," Joss chided gently. "We did almost get her mate killed."

Fusco snorted. "No you didn't and you know it. Can the guilt trip. Bill helped you because that's who he is. She got a scare, but she had no right no take it out on you and John."

Joss shot him a look but didn't say anything.

* * *

That night, John walked in the door, kissed his mate and asked, "How did things go with Bess?"

Joss sighed. "Finch has been tracking me again?"

John smirked. "It's how he shows affection."

Joss had to laugh at that, then she grew serious. "Fusco and I had a new vic on the collar case who was a Somali refugee, so we paid the Crosses a professional visit to ask them about their work with the refugee community."

"I'm guessing Bess was thrilled to see you," John deadpanned.

Joss winced. "About as happy as she would have been if I were an IRS auditor. Matter of fact, I think she would have preferred the auditor."

The corner of John mouth quirked up slightly. "Did they at least help?"

"Yup. They told us Siad Barre was a powerful shaman, so we're still certain the perp is targeting supernaturally powerful individuals." Joss paused and smiled a small smile. "After she saw the pictures, she asked me to be careful as we were leaving."

"So you do rank above an IRS auditor," John grinned as he kissed her.

Joss kissed him back and a rather intense make out session followed.

"Where's Cali?" John gasped when he finally broke contact.

"In bed. You know her, she'll sleep like the dead until morning," Joss purred.

John grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the Master Suite. "I need a shower and I want someone to scrub my back."

A laughing Joss allowed herself to be pulled into the bedroom. John pulled her shirt off over her head and lightly ran his hands over her chest. "You're so beautiful," he whispered as his lips dipped down the kiss her tenderly.

Joss returned his kiss as she pushed his jacket off his shoulders and began unbuttoning his shirt. The pace of their kisses increased as each piece of clothing was removed and more of their bodies were available for touching and stroking.

John knelt in front of Joss and carefully removed her shoes. He kissed her stomach and undid her jeans, sliding them down her smooth legs, kissing her thighs. He looked up at her and met her eyes. Joss was touched by the tenderness she saw there. She ran her hands through his hair, hoping he saw the love reflected in her own eyes.

Joss tugged on John so that he would stand up. Once he was standing, Joss took her turn to kneel and take off his shoes and socks while John lovingly stroked her hair. Joss undid the buckle on his belt and pulled his pants and boxer down in one motion, freeing his cock. Her eyes locked with his as she slowly took his length into her mouth and slowly let it out. With a growl, John yanked her to her feet and attached her mouth with his.

They moved together into the bathroom, neither one willing to let the other go. John got the water running and they stumbled into the shower together, still making out like teenagers on prom night.

As the warm water ran down their bodies, their mouths continued to attack each other's and their hands roamed over the other. John's hand moved up to Joss's breast and tweaked her nipple, causing her to moan into his mouth. She reached down and took his length into her hand and began stroking it. John groaned and rested his forehead against Joss's, panting heavily.

John's hand moved down her body to touch her clit, gently rubbing in circles. Joss gasped and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as waves of pleasure crashed over her. John smiled down at her as he watched her expressive face contort in a mask of pure bliss.

Joss opened her eyes and she locked her gaze on her mate. "John, please…" she moaned.

John knew exactly what she wanted. He pulled Joss's leg up to his waist and pinned her against the wall. With a coy smile, she brought her other leg up and locked her ankles together behind his back, his throbbing member poised against her entrance. Slowly, he pushed his way into her and they began moving together, quickly establishing their familiar rhythm.

Joss clung to her mate, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms around her and his mouth on hers. Her fingers dug in his shoulders as he powerfully thrust into her and she pushed back against him.

Joss came first; her head fell against John's chest and she went limp into his arms. He came a few thrusts later, resting his cheek on her head. Carefully, she lowered one leg then the other, reluctant to break contact, but she knew they needed to get into bed and get some sleep.

They exited the shower and began drying each other, with some tender kisses thrown in for good measure. John held Joss tightly for moment, until he felt her shiver. "Come on, let's get you into bed," he smiled.

They hastily performed their bed time rituals. They climbed into their pajamas, John in the pants while Joss stole the tops. They brushed their teeth, Joss put on her head scarf, and they climbed into bed. Joss snuggled up to John's side and promptly fell asleep.

John watched his mate sleep. Once again he thanks the universe for bringing him to her that night on the subway. He had no idea where he would be now without her in his life, but he was sure it would not be good place. She was his anchor to the world, he would be lost without her.

* * *

 ****The battle with the Headless Horseman from _Sleepy Hollow_ was detailed in my prior story _The Wolf and the Headless Horseman_.**

 ******Joss's fight with John's former lover is in my story _A Wolf After My Own Heart_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Dr. Cortez**

The next morning Team Machine gathered over doughnuts, coffee, and tea in the Library to discuss the Collar Case, as they started referring to it.

"Grace, Taylor and I have been studying the symbols on the collars, we believe them to Mayan," Finch reported. "However translating them has proven to be extremely difficult, the Mayan written language is very complex. The same symbol, more properly called a glyph, can be either word or a syllable, similar to Japanese kanji. Unfortunately the polyvalence also worked in reverse, several different glyphs could have the same meaning. We are going to need an expert to translate."

"What I don't get, Finch," Lionel grumbled, "Is why the Machine didn't give us any numbers. We have a serial killer running around and it didn't notice?"

Finch sipped his Sencha green tea. "Unfortunately this case has exposed a weakness in the Machine's programming. When I was developing the algorithms and teaching the Machine how to process information, I knew very little of the supernatural world. Consequently, the Machine has a blind spot when it comes to supernatural events.

"The Machine relies on several methods to gather its information. For example, it's heavily dependent on electronic communications, but demons don't do email or text."

He pushed a couple of keys and a video popped up on his main screen. "Furthermore, some demonic beings don't even show up on security cameras. As an example, we have this security camera footage from Mr. Barre's apartment building." The team gathered to watch grainy security camera footage of a man they recognized as Barre. He entered the building lobby and got about halfway across the lobby before he saw something that obviously terrified him. He backed up, tripped and went down on his back. He scrambled backwards and threw an arm over his head to protect himself, then he went spinning across the floor as if he had been hit with a powerful blow. He wound up against the wall, curled into ball with his arms over head, as if he was trying to protect his face from another attack. His body jerked several times as if he were being hit, then he lay still. Then he was dragged across the floor and out of camera range. The entire time his assailant was invisible to the camera.

"The demon could have been stalking him for weeks and the Machine wouldn't have seen it," John said grimly.

"Sadly, yes," Finch said as he closed the window. "I've working with the Machine in order to help it identify supernatural activity, but the signs are subtle, so it will take time to teach it."

"Great, if the omnipotent Machine can't find them, what chance do we have?" Fusco asked glumly. Shaw silently passed him another doughnut.

"Despite Ms. Groves's insistence in referring the Machine as a God, it's is far from omnipotent, Detective," Finch chided gently. "However in this case we may have a break in the case, the Machine seems to learning its lessons and gave me this number this morning."

He pushed a few more keys and a picture of a smiling man in his late thirties with dark hair and a neatly trimmed dark beard. "This is Dr. Ramon Cortez. He's a professor of Meso-American studies at Long Island University in Huntington."

"Meso-American?" Joss said thoughtfully. "And we have a four murder victims wearing collars with Mayan symbols."

"I'm no detective, but that doesn't sound like coincidence," Shaw mumbled through a mouthful of what was probably her third doughnut.

"You're right, you're no detective," Fusco chortled. He could never resist teasing the diminutive ex-op.

Shaw rolled a lip back showing her canines and several doughnut crumbs. "Being a detective can't be too hard if you're one," she shot back.

"That's enough, children," John said coldly before the argument could escalate any further.

"Spoil sport," Fusco grumbled under his breath but quieted when John glared at him.

"Come on Fusco," Joss said as she headed for the door. I think we need to pay Professor Cortez a visit."

* * *

Joss and Lionel arrived on the campus and parked as close they could to the faculty housing, but they still had a fairly long walk considering neither one had ever been on this particular campus before. All the ivy covered buildings looked exactly the same and the brass plaques that marked each building were often covered by foliage.

Finally a student noticed that they seemed to be having a hard time finding something and she took pity on the strangers. "Hi, I'm Kirby, Can I help you find something?"

"Hi Kirby. Thank you. We're looking for Dr. Cortez's apartment. Do you know him?" Joss smiled back at the eager student.

Kirby grinned. "Yup, he's my thesis adviser. Follow me."

Joss and Lionel followed the helpful student to a poorly lit corridor on the fifth floor of the building to their left. She led them to a door marked 55 at the end of the hallway. "Here you go!" She chirped.

Joss thanked the student and she left smiling, knowing she had done her good deed for the day. Joss turned to knock on the door then paused with her hand raised in the air, her brow furrowed.

Lionel picked up on her confusion. "What's up?" her partner whispered to her.

"I feel something," she whispered back. "There's something supernatural in this apartment. I..I don't know what it is, but it feels _wrong_ to me somehow."

Fusco reached under his left arm and unsnapped the strap that held his service weapon in its holster. He had been partners with Joss long enough to trust her Wolf Sense. If she said there was something wrong in there, then there was something wrong in there and he wanted to be able to draw his gun quickly.

Joss did the same thing with her gun and the two partners gave each other a tiny nod to let the other know they were ready. Joss once again raised her hand and knocked firmly.

The door was opened by Dr. Cortez. "Professor Cortez? NYPD," Joss said briskly showing her badge. Lionel held his up as well.

Cortez blinked a few times. "What's this about?" He asked. He wasn't the source of the supernatural feeling Joss had had, but her training as an interrogator told her he was nervous.

"We'd like to request your help translating some symbols found at a crime scene," Lionel did his best to soothe the man's suspicions.

Cortez held the door open and gestured with his arm indicating the Wolves should enter. Joss and Lionel walked in and stood in the center of the living room. Lionel glanced over at Joss and she gave him another tiny nod to let him know that she was still feeling the metaphysical presence.

Joss's eyes darted around the area trying to identify the source of the presence she felt. The room was mostly decorated with artifacts Dr. Cortex had found on his travels throughout southern Mexico and Central America. Masks and weapons decorated the walls along with a large framed photograph of a cluster of step pyramids. A colorful wool blanket was folded over the back of the couch and small pots and statues were scattered around the room on shelves and end tables.

Joss turned her head taking in the room and trying to locate the reason for her unease. Shaking her head she decided that none of the artifacts was the source, the presence felt alive to her. Alive…but not quite, it was very confusing.

Her reverie was interrupted when Dr. Cortez followed them into the living room. "Please sit down," he requested. Joss and Lionel took seats on the couch while the professor took a seat in an arm chair across from them. "Now how can I help you?"

Lionel opened the manila envelope he was carrying and pulled out a photograph of the collar, passing it over to Cortez. "This was found at a crime scene. We were hoping you could tell us about the symbols."

Cortez looked at photograph. "These are Mayan, glyphs having to do with life and death. It would take me several days to do a complete translation."

"We would really appreciate it if you could take some time to help us out," Joss smiled at him.

He smiled back. "Of course I'll help New York's finest." Joss thought he sounded rather insincere but she thanked him anyway.

The detectives rose to leave when a door leading to another room opened and a woman who looked to be Native American walked into the room. She was wearing a white peasant blouse and a blood red skirt that showed off a lush, curvy figure. Her thick ebony hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Her bearing was regal and she looked at the Wolves as one would look at an insect.

Joss turned to the newcomer with a smile. "Hello, I'm Detective Carter."

The woman barely glanced at Joss, just enough to let the She Wolf know that she saw Joss's attempt at a greeting but was refusing to acknowledge it. The woman went to stand beside the professor who shot her an angry look for snubbing the detective.

"This is my wife Yatzil. She uh, doesn't speak much English yet," The professor introduced her as she stood impassive next to him looking right through the Wolves.

"Well tell her we're pleased to make her acquaintance," Joss said cheerfully. She and Lionel both gave Cortez their cards.

"Call us when you have that translation ready," Lionel said affably. "We'll let ourselves out." And the Wolves left briskly, both glad to be away from the doctor and his strange wife.

"Wow that Mrs. Doc is a piece of work," Fusco grumbled as soon as they were in the elevator.

"She's more than that, she's some sort of supernatural being," Joss said.

Fusco looked at her in surprise. "She's what you felt? She looks so normal. Bitchy, but normal."

"As soon as she walked into the room I felt it," Joss nodded.

"Evil?"

Joss frowned. "It's hard to say. She didn't feel evil like those witches and Hell Hounds in Sleepy Hollow or the Headless Horseman, but she felt…tainted. Like she didn't start out evil but did something very bad."

"Sounds like we have our numbero uno suspect."

They exited the building and Kirby bounded up to them like a large puppy. "How did it go?" she asked.

Joss smiled. "Very well Kirby, thank you for helping us. Dr. Cortez agreed to lend us a hand."

"Cool! He's the best!" Kirby beamed.

"He certainly seems like a nice guy," Joss continued smoothly. "We also met his wife."

The student's demeanor changed immediately. Her smile faded and her eyes were downcast. "Oh."

"Something wrong?" Joss asked kindly.

The student shifted uncomfortably. "It's just that Ms. Cortez is pretty snobbish and Dr. Cortez has been acting all weird since he married her."

Joss cocked her head to one side, her detective instincts screaming in her head. "How so?"

"When I was doing my undergrad, he was really cool. He would have extra tutoring sessions, and he would hang out with the students sometimes. He went to football and basketball games all the time. He was really involved with campus life. Now all he does is teach and run home to his wife. I can't see him without an appointment, half the time he doesn't even keep his posted office hours. "

 _Sudden shifts in behavior, there's a big red flag_ , Joss thought. "When did he marry Ms. Cortez?"

"Well that's weird too. He married her last summer when we were down south on an expedition. We found a new pyramid, with an intact burial chamber. That's really rare and we were all excited. To say you were in on finding something like that is a big resume builder.

"Then one of the other grad students, Lucy Tudor, fell off a cliff and died." Kirby paused and she looked thoughtful. "It was funny, Dr. Cortez didn't seem all that busted up over it. We finished up crating all the artifacts and came home. Next thing we know he shows up here married to _her_."

Joss frowned. "So it was a whirlwind romance?"

"Yeah, but he couldn't have married her more than a few days after Lucy died. I dunno, but it seemed really callous to me."

 _And to me too_ , Joss thought. "Thanks, you've been a big help." Kirby gave Joss a smile and wave and disappeared down the path.

"Fusco what would you think of a professor who meets and marries someone only days after losing a student to a tragic accident?" Joss asked her partner.

"I would think that accident may not have been an accident," Fusco grunted.

"Bingo. Let's get back and see what Finch has dug up on our love-sick professor."

* * *

As soon as the Wolves were out the door Cortez angrily turned to Yatzil. "I told you that you can't act like that in this century!" he snapped in the ancient Mayan tongue.

Yatzil shrugged, unconcerned with her lover's ire. "They are of the Wolf people, they are unclean. They are only good for sacrifice."

Cortez shook his head. "Things have changed, my love. Those Wolves have authority in this time. You must trust me on this."

"The She Wolf is powerful..." Yatzil mused.

"No, no, Yatzil, don't think it. She is someone. She wore a ring, so she has a husband. She would be missed. If we take her, they will look for her. It could be the end of us."

Yatzil turned to her husband and cupped his face. "But if we take her, she may have enough power to give me life, permanently! We can trade her life for mine!"

Cortez closed his eyes as her thumbs gently stroked his cheekbones and he sighed. "I want you to have life more than anything my love. But we must be careful or we will be discovered. We must take only those who would not be missed."

Yatzil kissed him, ending the argument as they moved on to more pleasurable pursuits. But she could not get the female Wolf out of her mind. So much power…

* * *

"How did it go?" John asked as Joss and Fusco walked back into the library.

"The professor definitely knows something and his wife is some sort of supernatural being."

"Demon?"

Joss shrugged. "She doesn't feel like those hell hounds or the evil witches in Sleepy Hollow. But she doesn't feel good either."

Finch frowned. "There was no mention of a wife in any of the information I found on Dr. Cortez."

"They've only been married a few months, according to one of his students," Joss explained. "They were married when he was out of the country on his last expedition."

Finch turned towards his keyboard. "What's her name? Maybe I can find something on her."

"Yatzil, I don't know her last name," Joss replied.

"Yatzil?" Grace looked startled.

'You know her?" Fusco asked, surprised.

Grace picked a book off a small pile she had on Finch's desk. "Taylor and I have been looking through Dr. Cortez's books. We had several of them on the shelves on the third floor.

"He writes about a Mayan noblewoman named Yatzil an awful lot, he's rather obsessed with her."

Grace flipped through the book she was holding. "She was the daughter of a Mayan ruler during what is called the Classic Mayan period. You might say they were the glory days of the empire which ran from approximately 250 A.D. to around 900 A.D. She was to marry a member of priest class. They were the nobility, think of the equivalent of Duke or Baron. They were said to be madly in love, but she died in an influenza epidemic before they could marry."

Shaw looked surprised. "She died of the _flu_?"

"What most people think of as the flu is in reality just a horrible cold, Ms. Shaw," Finch admonished her gently. "The real flu can be quite deadly. History is full of flu epidemics that have killed millions. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is considered the greatest natural disaster in history. It killed off approximately three to five percent of the world's population in just a few years."

"Note to self, get that flu vaccine that Dr. Cho has been bugging you about," Shaw said her eyes wide.

"Good idea, Sam," Grace said. "But, anyway, as Yatzil lay dying her lover put a spell on her to tether her soul to this world so he could bring her back later. Unfortunately before he could call her back, he too died of influenza.

"According to the legend, Yatzil has spent the last fifteen hundred years calling out to her lover to release her from hell so that she may walk the Earth again. She has been waiting for him to be reincarnated. It's a romantic and rather horrifying story. Love frozen in time for nearly two millennia, waiting to be reunited." Grace looked meaningfully at Finch. Finch blushed and looked away.

John spoke quietly. "We need Abbie and Ichabod."

* * *

 **According to the university of Google, Yatzil is Mayan for "Beloved." I felt it was an appropriate name for someone who had been obsessed over for nearly two thousand years. The legend of Yatzil is my own invention, don't blame the Mayans for it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: I was not happy with this chapter so I did some extensive rewriting on it after I got it back from my beta. It's probably chock full of mistakes like typos and missing words. My apologies in advance, but overall I think the chapter is much better now.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5** **\- The Witnesses**

Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills limped into the living room of the cozy little house they shared, battered and bruised from their latest brush with the forces of hell. "I really hate guard demons," Abbie grumbled as she poked at a tear in her jeans. "Dammit, that's the second pair this week."

"The pants are replaceable, you are not," Ichabod said sternly as he knelt in front of her to examine the tear in order to be sure it didn't extend to the leg below. Abbie shivered as his warm, gentle hands carefully prodded the rip in her jeans until he was satisfied that Abbie was unharmed. "That could have ended very badly for you leftenant. I was quite frightened for your safety." He looked up at her with his dark eyes filled with love and concern.

Abbie smiled down at him and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm fine and the demon isn't."

Ichabod's response was to stand up and enfold her tightly in his arms. Abbie snuggled into his chest with a sigh. They stayed like that, just drinking each other in. Then a long meaningful look passed between and their lips slowly moved towards each other's. Just as they were about to come together in a kiss, Abbie's phone rang loudly, shattering the moment. The shrill sound made them both jump back.

"Must you leave the thing on high volume?" Ichabod grumbled. Abbie gave him an apologetic smile and pulled her phone out her pocket. "It's Joss!" she told him.

Ichabod harrumphed, clearly unhappy at the interruption. "Tell her hello," he said flatly.

"What's up girl?" Abbie chirped. "Really? Yeah, sure…of course!...Give us a little time to pack and we'll be there as soon as we can…Ok bye!"

Ichabod looked disgruntled. "More demonic activity in New York City?" His plans for the day did not include a trip to the big city.

"Only if you think mummies wearing Mayan collars is demonic," Abbie replied with a sly smile.

Ichabod's left eyebrow raised almost to his hairline. He was interested despite himself. "Mummies?"

Abbie showed him a picture on her phone that Joss had just sent. It was one of the crime scene photos of Said Barre. Ichabod studied it for several minutes. "I suggest we stop at the archives on the way out of town. There are some items that we might find useful. And we must find a Starbucks. "

* * *

Within a few hours, Abbie and Ichabod where once again in New York at Finch's current safe house, looking at the collars and pictures of the victims while listening to the Wolves bring them up to speed on the case.

Ichabod thoughtfully ran his fingers over the collar. "May I borrow a pad of paper and pencil?' He asked.

Finch produced the required items and handed them to the Witness. Ichabod settled himself at the dining table to begin translating the symbols on the collar.

"You read Mayan?" Joss asked in surprise. Abbie just rolled her eyes and muttered, "Of course he does" under her breath.

Crane nodded without looking up as he began the process of translating the symbols on the collar. "Mayan is actually more of a family of languages rather than a single language. This in the Ch'olti' language, known as Classic Mayan."

"When did you study the Mayans?" Abbie asked curiously. "Oxford?"

"A couple of months ago. There are a few books Sherriff Corbin left behind in the cabinet in the southwest corner of the archives, third shelf. Ironically one was even written by Professor Cortez."

Abbie sighed and Joss barely suppressed a laugh.

It only took Ichabod about an hour to finish the translation. "Dr. Cortez told us it would take him days." Joss sniffed. "I'm guessing he lied? Big surprise there."

Ichabod nodded. "It was his book that taught me the written language. He would have been able to complete this task every bit as fast as I."

"What does it say?" Fusco asked impatiently.

"My translation is still somewhat rough, but from what I can gather, this collar is spelled to slowly drain the life force of the wearer and give it to someone else. The person wearing it would feel their soul slowly being torn from them. Depending on the strength of the person's life force it could take a couple of days for a non-supernatural being to be completely drained, to a week or more for a supernatural being such as a warlock, demon or," Crane looked pointedly at John and Joss, "a Wolf."

"Thus the mummified appearance of the victims," Finch said, his eyes wide with horror.

Ichabod nodded gravely. "Their life essence is drained away. The question is to what ends?"

"We have a theory about that," John said looking at Grace.

Grace laid a hand on the book in front of her. "I've been reading Dr. Cortez's books. He was obsessed with the legend of Yatzil. Now Joss and Lionel report that he's married to a woman named Yatzil."

Ichabod's eyes went wide. "Yes, I do believe you have found the key. Cortez did write of a legend of a Princess who died tragically young during an influenza epidemic. Her lover put her under a spell before she died that bound her soul, preventing it from moving on."

"Sorta like the whammy your ex put on you?" Shaw asked.

"Similar but not quite the same. I was not aware during my time in stasis," Crane explained. "How much do you know of the Mayan's version of the underworld?"

The team, with the exceptions of the Grace and Taylor all shrugged, but Grace was able to answer. "Xibalba, which translates as 'The Place of Fear.' The entrance was said to be a cave in Guatemala. It's a horrible place of pain and suffering, ruled by twelve rulers, some of whom are supposed to be demons…OH!" her eye grew wide as realization hit her.

Crane gave her a small bow. "A woman of learning, I salute you. I see you have connected the dots, as they say. I suspected that the Mayan were actually describing a demonic dimension in their legends of the underworld. I do not know how they found the demon realm, but it is quite possible that there is a cave that leads to a portal to a demon world.

"According to Maya, one had to pass through several levels of what was basically hell before one could move onto paradise in the afterlife. They describe a river of scorpions, a river of blood, and a river of pus. One had to pass through a house full of hungry jaguars, a house of shrieking bats and a house of razors. I am going to postulate that the spell her lover put on her trapped Yatzil in the first level of Xibalba, which would make her easier to recall to our world, but would force her to endure constant torment from the demons who ruled there.

"Unlike the spell my wife used on me, the princess would have been fully awake and aware during her time in the demonic realm where her soul was bound. She has waited a very long time for her lover to release her and bring her back to our dimension. I shudder to think what happened to her during that time."

"Would a spell like this bring her back?" Joss asked. "Could the Yatzil we met be the lost princess?"

Crane nodded. "Bringing someone back from another realm would require many sacrifices. She would have…changed. One does not spend the much time in a place of pain and suffering without being altered in a horrible fashion. Her life force that allows her to exist in this world would be extremely depleted from so many centuries trapped in another dimension. This spell would restore it, but she would need multiple souls to feed on in order to fully restore her own soul after all this time."

Fusco let out a long slow whistle, "So that's why we're up to our pointy ears in mummies. What happens if she doesn't feed off other people's souls?"

"She would be forced to return to the demonic realm from whence she came," Ichabod intoned. "They would be separated once again, probably forever this time."

"They're committing murder, out of love," John said simply.

"HP Lovecraft meets Lord Byron," Finch said grimly.

Grace sighed. "I can't condone it, but I understand how they feel. I would have given just about anything to have Harold back when I thought he was dead."

Harold didn't say anything he just looked down at his keyboard.

John spoke so softly everyone had to strain to hear him. "I lost someone once too, and I nearly lost Joss."

Taylor shook his head. "I know you wouldn't kill an innocent person though, not even to get mom back."

"No," he confirmed, his face mournful. Joss took his hand and they shared a loving look for a few seconds before turning their attention back to the conversation.

Abbie swallowed hard. "How many mummies have you found?"

"Four," Joss replied. "But the student told me that Dr. Cortez returned from South American with Yatzil around mid-August, and it's now mid-October..." her voice trailed off.

"So there are probably at least four more victims that haven't been found yet," Shaw finished in her usual blunt manner.

"Jesus," Fusco whispered. "How many more people do they have to suck dry?"

Crane shrugged. "The number would vary depending on several factors, such as the amount of time she was trapped, how much of her humanity she was able to retain and how magically strong the victims were. Since she has been concentrating on Wolves and Shamans as far we know, and she was trapped for nearly two millennia, I would estimate she needs many more victims before she is completely grounded in this dimension."

John decided that it was time to cut to the chase. "How do we stop her?" He asked, his face set in its usual stony mask.

Ichabod thoughtfully examined the collar he still held in his hands. "Using this collar, I may be able to create a counter spell to drain the demon's powers. Once she is weak enough, she would be banished back to her demonic realm." He looked up at John. "It will take some time though, the Mayan language is complex, and I would have to do a more precise translation of the spell."

John looked grim. "Finch already gave us the lecture on the Mayan language. Do what you have to, we'll try to keep Yatzil from killing again."

Crane bowed his head. "Then I shall get to work immediately. Is there a Starbucks nearby?"

* * *

Finch and Grace had the habit of reading in bed before retiring for the night However, that night Finch noticed that Grace wasn't reading, instead she was staring off into space. "Are you alright? He asked taking her hand in his. "I know Mr. Crane's speech about the Mayan underworld was quite disturbing."

Grace shook her head. "I had already read about all that in my research. I'm trying to understand how Yatzil and Dr. Cortez feel, but I just can't. As badly as your 'death' hurt, I can't even contemplate hurting an innocent person to bring you back to me."

"I think it speaks well of your humanity that you cannot understand it," Finch replied. "Murder for love is still murder." He took a deep breath. "I am sorry that you are privy to such horrors, I wanted to shield you from this life..."

Grace placed a finger to his lips. "Shush. I chose this, I chose _you_ and I have no regrets. However, I do have one request."

"Anything you want."

"When this is over, I would like to go to the Monet exhibition at the museum of art," Grace said softly.

Finch smiled. "I think Monet would be the perfect antidote for murdering Mayan demons."

* * *

"Don't you ever get mad at the universe?" Abbie asked as she stood in front of the mirror braiding her hair.

Ichabod looked up from his place on the bed where he had spread out several books on the Mayan language. In his hands he held a pad of paper where he was furiously scribbling notes as he worked to produce a precise translation of the spell on the collars. "I'm sorry I don't follow you…?"

Abbie whipped her T-shirt off, throwing it in her suitcase with far more force than was needed. "Neither one of us chose to be a Witness, do you ever get mad at the universe for forcing you to spend your life fighting the forces of darkness?"

Ichabod was having trouble following the conversation as Abbie removed her bra, exposing her breasts, which had him quite distracted. Abbie didn't notice and yanked on sleep shirt without a break in her tirade. "Look at what it's done to you. Your wife tried to kill you, your best friend got turned into a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and your son hated you for things that happened after you DIED. It killed my mom, turned my sister into a basket case and killed my mentor."

She climbed into bed next to him and flopped on her pillow with a huff. "I am so sick of demons! I'm in New York, the best shopping in the _world_. Am I looking at cute shoes? Noooo, I'm chasing lovesick Mayan demons like some sort of supernatural Ann Landers. I HATE the universe." There was a few seconds of silence, then she turned her head to look at him. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Ichabod gave her a loving smile. "It is true that fate has been rather unkind to me on occasion, but I could never hate the universe. Fate may have taken many things from me, but it brought me to you. For that, I would endure all my trial and tribulations many times over."

Abbie visibly deflated, then she laughed. She sat up and gave her fellow Witness a kiss on the cheek. "You sure know how to flatter a girl. Now put those books away, it's time for bed."

* * *

John and Joss climbed into bed and Joss snuggled up to his side. They lay there quietly for a few minutes, then Joss murmured, "Stop brooding."

John blinked in surprise. "How…?"

"John, I can feel you brooding across the city."

He smiled and placed a kiss on top of her head. "My anchor."

They felt something on the bed and looked down to see a bleary-eyed Cali crawling towards them, dragging her stuffed Wolf with her.

"Did someone have a bad dream?" Joss cooed at her baby.

Cali merely nodded and flopped down between her parents, were she promptly curled up and went to sleep.

"Speaking of anchors," Joss whispered to her mate as they settled down on either side of their cub. She was soon asleep.

John stayed awaked a while, just gazing at his ladies. He wondered how such evil like Yatzil and Dr. Cortez could exist in the same world with such good like Joss Carter and little Cali.

Then he finally settled down to sleep with a gentle smile on his face.

* * *

 **Crane's explanation of the Mayan underworld is as accurate as I could make it, given my online research. I was struck by just how demonic it sounded! (Note to self: no more research into ancient religions before bed. Some of that stuff makes Stephan King's worst look like Sesame Street.)**

 **Fun Fact: I was originally going to make Yatzil an Incan instead of Mayan, but the Inca are the only major civilization who didn't have a written language. They used a complex system of knotted strings to keep records instead. Since the writing on the collars is key to story I had to change things up a bit. I was quite unhappy about that, the Incans had some seriously cool mummie** s.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Kidnapped**

Over the next day, the team continued to work the case to the best of their ability. Joss and Fusco continued to work on the cases of the victims, hoping to discover a clue as to how Yatzil was selecting her victims or where the victims were being held while their souls were ripped from them. John, Taylor, and Shaw kept eyes on the Dr. Cortez and his demonic wife in the hopes they could intervene when Yatzil needed another soul. Finch dug into Dr. Cortez's background, looking for locations where the victims could be held. Crane focused on creating a precise translation of the collar spell and the counter spell. Abbie and Grace continued to read Dr. Cortez's writings and act as research assistants to Finch and Crane.

The sun was just rising as John and Shaw arrived on campus. While John went to stakeout the Cortez apartment, Shaw headed for Dr. Cortez's office in another building near the center of campus.

"You should see this lock, Reese," Shaw growled. "It's so old, Cali could probably pick it."

The mention of his cub brought brief smile to the operative's face. "One thing I've learned as a parent, never underestimate the ability of a determined toddler to get what she wants. Did I ever tell you about the time Cali pulled the drawers out and used them as steps to get up on the kitchen counter to steal cookies that Alice had left out to cool?"

"Resourceful little ankle biter," Shaw commented as she dug through Cortez's desk drawers. She sounded like she approved of the cub's inventiveness and John had no doubt that she did. "I'd go to great lengths to steal Alice's cookies too. Those chocolate chip peanut butter bars she makes are the _bomb_!"

John's grin got wider, Alice loved to cook and Shaw loved to eat. Needless to say to the two women adored each other. Well, as much as Shaw was capable of adoring anyone.

"I've noticed the University of Long Island doesn't have the best security," John commented idly as he looked around for security cameras. "The coverage by the cameras is completely inadequate and I haven't seen a single security guard. It's no wonder Cortez and Yatzil were undetected for so long. Finding anything?"

Shaw flipped through a stack of papers on the desk. "Naw, unless you want to know that some dude named Greg Sutcliffe is failing Intro to Ancient Mayan Civilizations and Brady Barrows left the professor the worst suck-up note I've ever seen." She snorted in contempt. "Brady, that's a last name, not a first name. Who the hell names their kid _Brady_?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Barrows, obviously," John deadpanned.

"Very funny Reese," Shaw snapped. "If that vigilante thing doesn't work out for you, you could be a comedian."

"Always pays to have a back-up plan, Sam," John said, sounding most pleased with himself.

"What. Ever. I'm done here, there's nothing. Heading your way."

Shaw and John kept the apartment under surveillance until about mid-morning when Dr. Cortez left the building and headed for his first class of the day. John followed the professor while Shaw remained behind to watch the apartment and Yatzil.

It wasn't much longer before Finch called with the information that Dr. Cortez had inherited a small house in Westchester County from his parents. It was decided that John would leave the professor and go check it out while Shaw would remain on campus and kept an eye on Yatzil.

* * *

Several hours later, Shaw checked her watch. The professor still had another hour of teaching before he would return, so she pretended to read the book she had taken from the library in an attempt to fit into the academic institution, but her eyes were glued to the entrance to the building in front of her. In the middle of the day with classes in session, it had been very quiet around the faculty apartments. Shaw was quite frankly bored out of her mind.

Her day finally got more exciting as she saw Yatzil exit the building and make a beeline straight for her. Shaw put her book aside, curious as to what the woman wanted. She didn't like the answer.

Yatzil walked right up to Shaw and without word smashed her across the face with super human strength. Shaw fell to the ground unconscious. Yatzil picked her up and none too gently dumped her body in the thick bushes along the building. Then she casually strolled away.

Shaw remained unconscious in the bushes for several hours until Taylor arrived to relive her and take his turn at surveillance. It took him quite a while to find her, and he only located her because his sensitive Wolf ears heard her moan as she started to come round. He followed the sounds to find her laying in a heap in some very think foliage behind the building.

"What happened?" Taylor asked as Shaw slowly opened her eyes.

Shaw groaned again and sat up, leaning back against the building. "I got my ass kicked by a certain demon of interest. I need you to see if you can find Yatzil."

Taylor nodded his head and hurried off. He started by knocking on the door to the Cortez apartments, prepared to pretend to be a lost student, but there was no answer. He decided to risk it and picked the lock, but the apartment was empty. He found Dr. Cortez in a lecture hall, still teaching his class, but no Yatzil.

He returned to find Shaw still sitting in the bushes, and still looking pale. "How do you feel?" he asked with some concern. n with his training in hand to hand combat and lock picking, he had also had some basic first aide instruction, so he recognized the signs of shock and a probable concussion.

"Did you know in India they used to execute people by having an elephant stomp on them? I feel l like that," the tiny operative snapped.

Taylor didn't take offense at Shaw's tone, he was quite used to the ex-assassin's dark moods. "No sign of Yatzil. Let's get you back to HQ and you can raid Finch's stash of pain killers."

Shaw looked up at him. "For once you get to drive, there are two of you."

* * *

Moreno slapped a piece of paper with an address written on it down on Joss's desk. "Just got a call. 'Nother mummy turned up. Hope you didn't have plans for the evening." Then she walked off without another word. Joss and Fusco gave each other resigned looks, sighed long drawn out sighs, and then got up and headed for the door.

Thanks to New York's legendary traffic, it took nearly an hour to reach their destination and the sun was down. A chill wind blew as they climbed out the car and surveyed their surroundings. The address was an empty lot in a less than savory part of town, and despite the relatively early hour, the street was deserted.

"Of course it had to be a creepy ass empty lot in a crap part of town," Fusco grumbled. "It's ALWAYS a creepy ass empty lot in a crap part of town."

Joss's hand crept under her jacket and she withdrew her weapon. "Worse than that, where is everyone? At the very least there should be a black and white here by now to secure the scene."

Fusco eyes grew wide and he swiftly withdrew his own gun. "You're right. The coroner's office is only half mile from here, CeCe and her boys should have been here long before now. We've been suckered."

Joss's Wolf sense alerted her to the presence of another supernatural creature. "Fusco," she hissed, "we're not alone."

No sooner had she spoken than something flashed by out of the corner of her eye and before she knew it, Fusco was slammed to the ground with blood seeping through slash marks on his back. Joss fired at the mysterious figure, but her bullets apparently had no effect. The figure vanished into the dark, leaving Joss alone with an unconscious Fusco.

Joss scanned the area using her eyes, ears, and Wolf sense. She could feel whatever it was, but it kept moving with unbelievable speed so she was unable to get another shot off, not that it would have helped anyway.

The creature flew by again, this time knocking the gun out of her hand. Joss growled, it was playing with her now and that made her MAD. In response she morphed into the black Wolf. Judging from the brief glimpses she got of the thing, she was sure she was battling a demon.

The creature swept by yet again, hitting Joss, but this time she was able to inflict a savage bite its arm. She enjoyed a surge in satisfaction when she felt its pain through her Wolf Sense. Joss Carter was not going down without a fight.

Again, the demon raced by swiping at Joss with a clawed hand. Joss nimbly ducked under its arm and sank her teeth into the hell beast's leg. It screamed in pain and vanished into the dark once again. She ran her tongue around her teeth. _Fusco was right_ , she mused. _Demons do taste like ass._

She could hear sirens approaching in the distance. Someone must have called in when she had fired on the demon earlier. All she had to do was hang on a few more minutes and reinforcements would be there.

She heard a rustling sound behind her and she whirled to face the demon once again. As she turned, it smashed her across the muzzle. She staggered and the creature hit her again. Then the world went black.

* * *

After a fruitless trip to Westchester, John arrived back at the library to find Shaw slumped in a chair holding an ice bag to a magnificent shiner.

"Yatzil got the drop on you?" He enquired, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

The tiny operative glared at him. "She's a lot stronger than she looks. And fast. She's even faster than you."

John turned to Finch. "Any idea where she is?"

Finch shook his head. "Unfortunately Yatzil is remaining true to her ancient origins and does not carry a phone. Since Yatzil in her demon form does not register on cameras, even the Machine is having trouble tracking her."

John growled. "She's hunting."

Finch nodded. "That would be the logical assumption. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about it until she strikes. All we can do is wait. I would suggest you go home and spend some time with your family. I already sent Taylor home. I'll alert you as soon as the Machine finds her."

John looked at Shaw. "Do you want to have dinner with us?"

Shaw shook her head and winched at the pain. "I'm pretty sure I have a concussion and for once I'm not hungry. Finch and I are going to the safe house in few minutes to check on Crane and Abbie, I'm going to crash there for a while."

John nodded and left.

He arrived home to find Taylor sliding a casserole in the oven and Cali engrossed in Sesame Street.

"Where's your mom?" John asked.

"She just called, she and Fusco got a call on another mummy. She said to get Cali down and not wait up for her," Taylor replied as he punched the timer on the stove.

John growled. He was hoping to spend some time with his mate, but evenings with both of them home were fairly rare. So instead he scooped his cub up in his arms and blew raspberries against her stomach while she laughed and kicked.

Dinner was soon ready and Cali made no secret how happy she was to have her daddy home with her. John helped her eat, then bathed her. Once she was dressed in her Doc McStuffins jammies, John put Dean Martin on the stereo and slowly waltzed with her on his shoulder to _Everybody Loves Somebody_ until she fell asleep on his shoulder. He tucked her into bed with a kiss on her tiny forehead.

John walked back into the great room to find Taylor slouched on the couch watching the game. "I'm going to the safe house to check on Finch and Crane. Will you be OK with your sister?" he asked the teen.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah we'll be fine. I'm going to bed as soon as the game's over, I have an early class. I'll put the baby monitor in my room. Grandma will be here early in the morning."

"Thanks," John replied. Taylor gave him a wave and turned his attention back to the game.

John had barely settled into the driver's seat of his car when he felt a surge of emotion through his bond with Joss. A surge of adrenaline fueled excitement, coupled with controlled anger and raw determination could only mean one thing, Joss was in a fight. John started the car and turned it in the direction of his mate, determined to reach her as quickly as possible.

Before he could get very far the bond went deathly silent. John pulled over and took deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He reached out with his own Wolf sense searching for his mate, but there was nothing. He knew she must have been knocked unconscious. He blinked away the tears that were blurring his vision and called on the cool headed CIA operative inside of him. His mate needed Reese the stone cold CIA assassin right now, not John the loving mate.

Reese turned the key in the ignition and nosed the car back out into traffic. "Finch I need you to track Joss's cell phone for me."

* * *

 **Yeah, you all knew I was going to go there. Told you this going to get grim.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – Crime Scene**

John wasted no time getting to the safe house. He found Finch seated at the dining table with his laptop. Crane was seated across from him surrounded with books, paper and empty Starbucks cups, working on the counter spell to the collar. Abbie was sitting next to him with an untouched cup of coffee in front of her. The look on their faces when they all turned to him as he entered the room made John's stomach drop.

"Did you trace Joss's phone?" he asked quietly in a tone of voice that Finch knew all too well.

Finch cleared his throat. "Yes, John I did. It's in empty lot in a very undesirable part of town. But we know she's not there." Finch paused, clearly reluctant to continue.

"Tell me," John commanded, but there was a hitch in his voice.

"A short while ago, NYPD responded to a report of shots fired. When they arrived on scene they found Detective Fusco in the same empty lot where Detective Carter's phone pinged. He was injured and unconscious." Finch paused to lick his lips and John knew what his next words were going to be. "There was no sign of Detective Carter. Can you feel her at all?"

John sook his head. "She's alive, but unconscious. I won't be able to track her until she wakes up so I'll need the address where Fusco was found." His voice was flat and emotionless. "Where's Shaw?"

"Ms. Shaw is asleep. She was still suffering from double vision and vertigo before she lay down, I don't think she can help you."

John looked at Abbie. "Do you have your badge with you?"

She nodded.

"Then let's go. Crane, we need that counter spell done ASAP."

"I am working on it most diligently, Mr. Reese. I am very close," Crane huffed. He handed Abbie one of the collars. "Take this with you. If I complete the spell before you return, I will text you."

Abbie stuffed the collar in her pocket and followed John out the door.

As the door shut behind them, Crane said, "Mr. Reese took that rather well."

Finch shook his head. "No, I'm afraid he didn't. It's in his eyes Mr. Crane. He's raging inside."

* * *

Thanks to the late hour, John and Abbie were not hampered by the usual New York traffic allowing them to arrive at the scene very quickly. They found work lights had been set up and several NYPD personnel hard at work. They exited the car and walked the few steps to the taped off area where John pulled a badge from his pocket. "US Marshal Jennings and Special Agent Abigail Mills of the FBI, We need to speak to the person in charge." Abbie shot him a surprised look at when he pulled the Marshal's badge from his pocket but said nothing, quietly showing her FBI badge instead.

"That would be me," a large, burly detective with blonde hair said. "Detective Gary Linander. How can I help you?"

"We think this incident is related to one of our cases. Can you tell us what happened?" Abbie said briskly.

Linander lifted the tape and with a jerk of his head, indicated they should enter.

"Detectives Fusco and Carter got a call a few hours ago indicating that new body in a series of murders they had been investigating had been found." He pointed his flashlight at a vehicle John recognized as Joss's official car parked at the curb. "That's Detective Carter's car. We don't know exactly what happened after they arrived on scene, but we know the call was a ruse, so they were probably ambushed as soon as they left the car. No witnesses, but a neighbor heard gunshots and called it in. When the black and white got here they found Fusco unconscious and severely injured with several slash injuries on his back."

Linander paused and swallowed, obviously disturbed by what he was about to say next. "We haven't found Carter, but we did find her clothes." He shone his light on a pile of shredded clothes that John recognized as the grey pants suit his mate had worn to work that morning. "And her service weapon, which had been fired." Linander's light moved to a gun laying the ground not too far from the clothes.

John squatted down next to the pile of Joss's clothes. "She morphed," he stated flatly.

"How can you be sure?" Linander asked curiously.

"The buttons on her blouse are all ripped off and her clothes tore along the seams, that's typical when we morph into our Wolf form while still dressed."

"But why would she do that?" Linander asked.

John stood up, only Abbie noticed him pocketing Joss's badge. "To fight a supernatural being."

Linander shuddered. "I shoulda known you were going to say that. I hate that shit. But it fits with the weird footprints we found."

He moved his light a couple of feet to the right so Abbie and John could see a footprint that looked vaguely human, except the foot was elongated so it was about one and half times the length of John's size twelves. It also had huge claws. Abbie and John both squatted down for a closer look.

"Looks like Yatzil is some sort of slasher demon," Abbie said quietly to John. "Look at those claws! It also fits with Fusco's injuries."

John responded with a tight nod. Then he stood up and pulled out his own flashlight and moved several feet to the next footprint. "She's also big, she's a got long stride. She must be around ten feet tall in demon form."

"Ten feet?" squeaked Linander, his face a mask of pure horror. "No wonder Carter and Fusco never had a chance."

"Any other evidence we should be aware of?" Abbie asked, somewhat amused that such a large man was such a big fraidy cat.

Linander shook his head and blew out a calming breath. "No, not until Fusco wakes up. The person who called us only heard the gunshots, they didn't see anything. We've already looked for witnesses and combed the area for any other evidence. We got bupkis."

"Thanks for your help, Detective," Abbie said as she pulled a card out of her pocket. "This has my cell phone on it, call us if you find anything else."

"Sure thing Agent," Linander said. With a wave he returned to watch the CSI techs as they photographed the scene.

"So, do I want to know how you wound up with an US Marshal's badge?" Abbie asked casually as they walked back to the car.

"I don't know, do you?" John answered stiffly.

Abbie thought for a few seconds. "Does Joss know?"

John looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, she knows. Everything."

"Then I'm good."

John slid into the driver's seat and started the car. He tapped his phone to call Finch, routing it the call over the car's Bluetooth so Abbie could listen in, too.

"Finch we're positive Cortez and Yatzil have Joss. Has Fusco woken up yet?"

"I'm afraid not John. Grace is with Detective Fusco's ex-wife and son on at the hospital, she will call as soon as he wakes. I take it that you cannot track Joss through your bond?"

"No, she's probably still unconscious." His voice hitched the tiniest bit on the last word, but everyone heard it. Abbie gently rested a hand on his arm. John looked over and gave her the tiniest of nods to acknowledge her gesture.

"Mr. Crane says he needs to talk to Abbie."

"I'm here," Abbie said.

"Ah good leftenant," Crane's voice came over the speakers. There were sounds that sounded like someone fumbling with the phone then he spoke again. "I have the spell ready and I just texted it to your phone. Do you still have that collar with you?"

"Yes I do."

"Please read the spell back to me."

Abbie read his text back to Crane and he corrected her pronunciation in a couple of places. They practiced it a couple of more times until Abbie and John felt the air stir inside the car.

"I think she's got it down Crane, I don't want a dimensional vortex in the car if you don't mind," the Wolf growled.

"Yes of course, Mr. Reese. I'll put Mr. Finch back on."

"Mr. Reese, where are you and Agent Mills going now?" Finch asked.

"The college, Finch. I'm positive the answers are there. Is Shaw awake yet?"

"Yes, she just woke up and she's eating again. She says she's ready for action."

"Good, have her and Crane meet us at the college."

"Of course, John. Be careful and good luck."

* * *

As Joss slowly returned to consciousness, the first thing she was aware of was that she was laying on a cold concrete floor. Carefully she lifted her head and looked around. She was in a cage in the corner of a large windowless room full of tables and shelves stocked with ancient artifacts. Aware she was still in her Wolf form she carefully rolled to her feet and began inspecting her prison.

"Don't bother, the others tried and they couldn't get out either."

Joss turned to see Dr. Cortez standing by the cage. He was bare chested with Mayan symbols painted over his upper body. Yatzil stood behind him off to one side, her face impassive. It was that moment that Joss, to her horror, realized she was wearing a leather collar.

She pawed frantically at the collar but it was on too tight for her slip it off. She tried to morph back to human, but she was unable to; the collar must be interfering with her ability to shape shift.

Cortez and Yatzil watched her desperate efforts quietly. The demon woman's eyes gleamed and the corner of her mouth raised slightly. Dr. Cortez looked regretful, but determined. He raised his arms and began singing an incantation.

Suddenly every nerve in Joss's body felt like it was on fire. She cried out in agony and fell over as she struggled to control the pain. The pain was worse than child birth, worse than the pain from the land mine, and worse than the pain from the bullet that nearly killed her.

Yatzil turned and walked away, no more concerned with Joss's suffering than she would have been than if she had swatted a fly.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Cortez whispered softly before he followed his wife.

Joss closed her eyes and focused all her strength on her mate through their bond. John was her only hope now.


	8. Chapter 8

**I have been soooo looking forward to sharing this chapter! *evil grin* Remember when I said this was going to get grim? We're there.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Portal**

The city was waking up and once again it was full of traffic. It was slow going for the Wolf and The Witness as they negotiated the crowded streets. Abbie was getting increasingly frustrated, outwardly John was showing no emotion, but Abbie noticed his knuckles where white as he gripped the steering wheel.

The light in front of them changed to green but John didn't move. He sat staring off into space, not moving a muscle, even when the car behind him sounded their horn. Suddenly he stomped on the accelerator and the car leaped forward, nearly taking out a pedestrian who had to dive out of the way.

"Reese?" Abbie asked.

"Joss is awake, I can feel her," he growled. "If feels like it's coming from the direction of the university." he tapped his ear piece. "Finch, Joss is awake and I think she's at the school."

* * *

John skidded to stop in the parking lot by the University of Long Island's administration building, leaving the car in the space marked "Vice President for Academic Affairs." Abbie thought about pointing that out, but decided against it. She doubted Reese would move the car.

John's bond with Joss led them to a building at the back of the campus. "Finch where are we?" He asked.

"According to the campus map, you are at the Pre-Colombian Civilizations building. Dr. Cortez has his office there and there is a large lab in the basement dedicated to cataloging and studying artifacts. Please wait one moment while I disable the alarm."

The door clicked open seconds later. John and Abbie drew their guns and entered cautiously. They crept silently through the halls following Finch's instructions down into the bowels of the building until they reached a door marked "Artifact Cataloging and Storage: Authorized Personnel Only."

John rested his forehead against the door while Abbie watched quietly. "She's in there, in pain. They've put a collar on her."

Abbie sucked in her breath sharply, knowing that the collar was ruthlessly eating away at Joss's life force, funneling it to feed the demon that Yatzil had become.

"Finch, how long until Crane and Shaw can get here?" John asked, his voice was heavy and his eyes were pooling with tears.

"It will be a couple of hours at least," Finch sounded very apologetic and bit frantic. "It's rush hour and there is an accident blocking traffic on the fastest route. I'm routing them around it, but it takes them far out of the way."

John looked at Abbie, his eyes begging. "She's in pain. We can't wait, no telling what that collar will do to her."

"John," Finch pleaded. "You must wait until Ms. Shaw and Mr. Crane get there."

"Please wait, Mr. Reese," Cranes voice broke in. "Yatzil Cortez is an extraordinarily large slasher demon. She can do tremendous damage with only one swipe of her claws. Even a Wolf of your caliber will be unable to defeat her."

"What would you do if it were Abbie in there?" John asked.

There was silence on the line, and John had his answer. But he still had one more person to convince.

He cut the connection and he looked over at Abbie who had been quiet through the conversation. As badly as he wanted to storm that room and get his mate back, he would not make the decision for Abbie. She had to agree to go in there with him with no back up of her own free will.

"Abbie," he started to say, looking at her with pleading eyes.

Abbie stopped him by laying a hand on his arm. "I know, let's go get your woman back."

John nodded. "I'll distract Yatzil, whatever you do, get that collar off Joss. Do you have a knife?"

Abbie rolled up her pant leg and pulled a rather large and wicked looking knife out of a holster strapped to her ankle. She held it up, "Christmas gift from Crane."

The corner of John's mouth quirked up. "I see he's a romantic. Once you get the collar off Joss open the portal. I'll keep the demon off you."

Abbie nodded solemnly "I will."

"Thank you," John said simply.

Abbie smiled. "Let's do it."

One well-placed shot from John destroyed the door lock and John kicked the door open, startling Dr. Cortez and Yatzil. John walked in firing, and Dr. Cortez dove under a table covered with priceless Mayan artifacts.

Yatzil turned to John and she seemed to grow in size. Her fingers, hands and arms grew longer and curved talons replaced her finger nails. Her teeth grew long and pointed. What stood before him was vaguely recognizable as the formerly beautiful Mayan princess but was now a grotesque demon.

John raised his weapon and fired, but the bullets had no effect. The demon laughed, a dry, evil sound that made the hairs on the back of John's neck stand up.

"Do you like my true form?" she hissed, her mouth twisted in a nightmarish imitation of a human smile. "This is what I became to survive in the demon realm. I learned well don't you think?"

John's answer was to pull his razor sharp knife from his sock and assume a fighting stance.

He and Yatzil began circling each other as they evaluated the other. Yatzil's tongue flicked as she tasted the air. "You are powerful, just like your mate. Perhaps I won't kill you. I will save you, and I will drain you when I'm done with her. She is quite tasty, will you be as sweet?""

John maintained his calm ignoring Yatzil's transparent attempts at psychological warfare as he coolly sized her up as an opponent. He was in his cold CIA operative mode now, her taunts didn't bother him; but he knew the longer he could keep her focused on him, the longer Abbie had to save Joss and open the portal. "Be careful you don't bite off more than you can chew, princess," John taunted her right back. "I thought you only went for easy kills."

Yatzil hissed, a sound that sent a shiver down the combat veteran's spine. She lunged for him, taking a long hard swipe at his head with her long claws. Had she connected, she would have ripped his head off, but he ducked under her arm and buried his knife up the hilt in her side. She screamed in pain then spun around so fast the knife was ripped from John's hand. She backhanded him across the face and he went sliding across the smooth concrete floor.

Yatzil pulled the knife from her side and looked it over with a look of contempt. "You will have to do better than this," she sniffed.

John morphed in the big salt and pepper Wolf and lunged for her.

* * *

As Reese was battling Yatzil, Abbie was focusing on her tasks to remove the collar from Joss and open the portal. She stepped into the lab behind Reese and paused, looking around for where the professor and his demon lover had jailed the She Wolf.

She spied a cage in a corner and ran towards it. As she moved closer, he could hear pained whining coming from inside. Joss was definitely in there, with a collar on, and in agony.

She was brought up short when Dr. Cortez stepped in front of her. "I can't let you interfere. That Wolf is so powerful she may allow Yatzil to stay here permanently."

She punched the professor squarely in the face, dropping him instantly. "Sorry," she said as she stepped over the man writhing in pain on the floor. "No time to argue."

She ran the rest of the way to the cage and dropped to her knees. She peered into the kennel to see a black Wolf form laying on the floor. "Joss?" she whispered. Joss raised her head and looked at her. Abbie gasped at the pain she saw in her friend's eyes. Joss whimpered.

Abbie opened the door and Joss staggered out. She collapsed on the floor as if the few steps she had just taken had exhausted her. Carefully Abbie slid the knife under the collar and sliced it off with one clean cut.

As soon as the collar fell away from Joss, Yatzil screamed as if she was in pain. Abbie looked up to see her throw Reese off and begin running towards her. Yatzil swiped at her, but she ducked and nimbly spun away, using her knife to slice a long cut on the demon's side as she did so. Yatzil turned with incredible speed for one so large and took another swipe at the Witness. This time Abbie wasn't able to completely avoid the blow and Yatzil's claws opened a couple of deep gouges on her arm.

Joss rose to her feet and lunged for the demon, knocking Yatzil off her feet and into a heavy table filled with artifacts. Joss inflicted a savage bite on the demon and she screamed in pain.

Reese's voice cut through the air. "Abbie, get that portal open! Joss and I will keep her busy!"

The big Alpha Wolf flashed past Abbie to join his mate and she could see that he already sustained several vicious looking wounds. Realizing the Wolves only had a short time before the demon overwhelmed them she pulled her phone and the collar from her pocket and began to recite the incantation.

As Abbie chanted, there was disturbance in the air and a vortex formed. Abbie kept her attention fixed on her task even as she heard the yelps of pain from her friends as they battled the demon. Suddenly she was tackled to the ground and she barely managed to hang onto her phone.

She looked up to see that it was Cortez who hit her. He slapped at her hand trying to knock her phone away. She threw her elbow straight into the man's nose, breaking it. Cortez rolled off her, blood gushing between his fingers. She scrambled to her feet, gave him a swift kick in the ribs and resumed chanting the spell without missing a beat.

* * *

As Abbie was trying to open the portal, John and Joss continued their battle with Yatzil. Joss was still stiff and sore from her time wearing the collar and John was doing his best to protect her from the brunt of the fight. Joss on the other hand was having none of it. She couldn't sit by and watch Yatzil rip her mate to shreds. However, it was obvious to both of them that they were slowly losing the battle.

Yatzil lunged for Joss, reaching for her with a clawed hand. Joss danced out of the way, but she was still moving more slowly than usual, so Yatzil was able slash her hind leg. John sank his teeth into Yatzil's calf, drawing the she demon's attention to himself. Yatzil kicked him viciously, landing a solid blow to his shoulder. He rolled several times until he landed up against a table leg.

Joss frantically tried to distract Yatzil from her injured mate, but a flick of the demon's wrist sent Joss spinning across the floor. Yatzil maliciously and deliberately sliced John's shoulder open with her forefinger while the Wolf was still dazed. She moved to slice open his side when suddenly John twisted his body and sank his teeth in her finger in an effort to bite it off. He was nearly successful, but Yatzil stomped on his foreleg and John heard the sickening crunch of bone breaking while pain shot up his leg. Yatzil smashed John across his face, knocking the Alpha unconscious.

Before Yatzil could deliver a death blow, she was knocked to the ground as Joss leaped on to her back and began biting at her neck. Yatzil swiped at Joss, trying to knock her off, but is was several seconds before she could get a grip on the She Wolf and smash her to the floor. Joss lay there dazed as Yatzil raised her hand for a killing blow. The demon now had both Alphas at her mercy.

* * *

The vortex grew and Abbie could see what looked like black, dead trees and bushes on the other side. A shadow of some hellish creature passed by briefly.

She heard Yatzil scream something the sounded like "Noooooooo." The demon's body distorted as she was being pulled towards the vortex and the other dimension. Abbie screamed out the incantation one last time and a struggling, shrieking Yatzil went flying through the portal, never to be seen in this world again.

An exhausted Abbie dropped to one knee, dropping the collar. The portal slowly began to decrease in size and collapse.

"Yatzil!" Dr. Cortez screamed. He raced past Abbie and dove into the portal just as it closed, trapping him in whatever demonic dimension his lover had been banished to. Abbie closed her eyes and bowed her head, saying a little prayer for the soul of the love-sick professor.

A high pitched whine pulled Abbie's attention back to the Wolves. To her horror she saw Reese, still in Wolf form, lying on the floor, unmoving. Joss, also still in her Wolf form, was crying in pain as she desperately crawled towards her mate leaving a smear of blood on the concrete floor behind her. She reached her mate and placed her head on his side. Then her eyes closed and she, too, stopped moving.

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 **So, was that intense enough for you? ;) Don't worry, there's one more chapter to go, I'm not going to end it here!**

 **I wanted to give Abbie a lot to do in this fic. They did her dirty on the show and completely wasted the character's potential. This is my way of making up for it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm done with all the grim. Thank you for all the positive reviews for the last chapter, I know that was a hard thing to read. I'm done beating on our heroes, for this fic at least!**

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 **Chapter 9 -Wolf Clinic**

Joss awoke in the now very familiar Wolf Clinic. "Not again," she groaned.

"You always say that," Dr. Mike Cho said from his post at the foot of her bed as he made notes on the tablet he carried. "I'm beginning to think you don't enjoy your stays with us. Don't you like us?"

Joss groaned as she shifted in the bed. "The company's fine, but the food bites and the coffee's worse."

"It's a law that hospitals have bad food. If we don't, we lose our accreditation," Mike quipped. "Cheer up, I'm sure Shaw will smuggle in a pizza like she does every time you're here."

"How's John?" Joss asked. She was almost afraid to ask the question since last time she had seen her mate he had been unconscious and badly injured.

"Ask him yourself," Mike indicated the bed next to her and for the first time Joss realized that her mate was also her roommate. John was giving her a lopsided smirk from the other bed in the room; lopsided because he had a split lip and a swollen, puffy black eye.

Joss smiled as best she could and reached for him, as John reached for as well. Their beds were only separated a small bedside table, so they were close enough that they could hold hands. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few minutes, glad they had survived yet another close call. A small tear trickled down Joss's cheek.

They were interrupted when Abbie, Crane, Finch, Grace, Fusco, Shaw, Fusco, and Taylor carrying Cali all piled into the room. "They told us you were awake!" Crane happily proclaimed, clearly relieved. "Dr. Cho expects a full recovery."

Taylor set Cali down on Joss's bed and the toddler immediately busied herself inspecting her mother's various injuries while furiously sucking on her pacifier. Then she took her pacifier out of her mouth and started kissing Joss's various "boo-boos."

"Good to see you up and around Fusco," Joss smiled.

Fusco grinned back. He was dressed in pajamas and a robe, and he moved stiffly, but he looked good for a guy who had taken a knockout blow from a demon not long ago. "You do not want to see the size of the pain pill I have to take every few hours. But Doc says I'll be OK. He's sending me home tomorrow."

"How long were we out?" Joss asked as Grace bent over to give her a gentle hug.

"You've been out for the better part of a day," Finch replied. "We've been in the waiting room."

"A day? How bad's the damage, Doc?" Joss looked at Mike.

"Well that's a question with a very interesting answer," Mike responded cheerfully. "As you will recall, last time you were here we had a betting pool going on."

John arched an eyebrow and growled at his pack mate. "Yes, I recall."

"Well Nurse Nicole bet on Joss returning with a leg wound, Patty in billing had Joss with broken ribs, Nurse Yvette chose Joss with a concussion and Dr. Enright also had Joss with a shoulder wound. On the other hand I had John with a stab wound, Dr. Peterson had John with a broken arm, Lassen bet on John with broken ribs and Roberto the X-Ray tech had John with a leg wound."

"Impressive list, you guys must have had a great time with the bets," Joss grumbled while Shaw and Fusco chortled quietly. Joss knew for a fact that both of them were in the pool.

Mike laughed. "I didn't even mention the people who bet on gunshot wounds, or one of you being run over by car. Just about everyone in the clinic was in on it."

"So who won?" John asked with his signature smirk.

"Well the problem is that Joss has a leg wound - several actually - broken ribs, a concussion and a shoulder wound, among other things. John has multiple stab wounds, a broken arm, broken ribs and a leg wound. He too has several injuries that didn't make it in the betting pool. You two are over-achievers."

"No wonder I feel like crap," Joss groaned.

John growled, "You still haven't answered my question, who won?"

"Turns out we had one person who bet on 'Injured in epic battle with a demon,'" Mike said.

Joss's eyebrows drew together, "Who would bet on _that_?"

John looked over and saw the smile on the Fusco's face. "I think I know," he growled.

Joss saw where John was looking and looked over at her pack mate and partner. "Really?"

Fusco stiffly reached into his pocket pulled out a fat wad of bills. "Lee's going to summer camp this year!"

"You bet against your pack mates?" Crane asked in horror while Abbie and Grace stifled their laughter and Taylor rolled his eyes.

"Naw, I knew John and Joss would win any demon battles, I just bet that's how they would wind up here," Fusco said as he stuck his money back in his pocket. "So, Doc, when's the next betting pool?"

Mike rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't think there is going to be one, bets that are won by 'epic demon battles' are too weird for this Wolf. I think I'll stick to running March Madness, the Super Bowl pool and the illegal poker game in the supply room for the overnight shift." His pager buzzed. "Excuse me, I have to go do doctor stuff now." He exited the room with a cheerful wave.

"What happened to Dr. Cortez and Yatzil?" Joss asked Abbie when Mike had left.

"They're gone," Abbie replied. "You and John gave me the time I needed to open the portal. Yatzil was sucked in and Cortez jumped in after her right before the portal closed. Where ever they are, they're together."

"I guess that makes up for a lot," Grace said quietly as she looked at Finch and took his hand.

Abbie looked troubled. "From what I saw before the portal closed, it's a horrific dimension. I've been in a dimension like that, I'm not sure even true love can help them."

Everyone went quiet for a minute, thinking of the two lovers who committed heinous acts of murder and had been trapped in a hellish dimension, all so they could be together.

"Serves 'em right," Shaw sniffed, breaking the silence.

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Later that night, after their visitors had been chased out, the Wolves had taken their nightly medications, and the hospital had gone quiet, Lassen removed the small table between John and Joss's beds and pushed them together. With their injuries, particularly the broken ribs, John sadly determined that they would be unable to share a bed for a few more nights. The best they could do is lie next to each other while holding hands.

"You know, the only reason I wouldn't kill anyone to bring you back to life is because you would kill me once you were back," John said with a smile in his voice.

Joss giggled under her breath. "So that's what it takes to make you behave."

John smiled, then he grew quiet. Joss, ever sensitive to his moods through their bond, felt his mood shift. "John?"

"Do you think it's possible to love someone too much?" he asked quietly.

"That's called obsession," Joss replied as her thumb idly rubbed small circles on the back of John's hand. "I've seen it few times in my career. It never ends well. As a Homicide detective, I've cleaned up the mess from obsessive love more than once." She paused and grimaced. "I just never thought I would be part of that mess."

John smirked. "Especially not an obsession that lasted for two millennia."

Joss snorted. "That's a record, I'm sure. I can hear Crane now," she deepened her voice, "Dark magic has consequences."

"It does, but Cortez's first mistake was to think he could cheat death. I know that temptation, it's hard to lose someone and know you'll never see them again." John paused and Joss knew he was thinking of his parents and Jessica. "But I learned something since then, life goes on and sometimes your new life is even better than your old life."

"When did my mate turn into a philosopher?" Joss giggled. "It's awfully sexy."

John chuckled softly. "Hold that thought until these broken ribs heal."

They lay quietly until Joss heard John's breathing get deeper indicating he was asleep. He had borne the brunt of the battle with the demon and Dr. Cho had prescribed some very powerful meds. John would sleep deeply for the next eight hours.

Joss turned her head so she could watch her beloved mate sleep. She loved watching John sleep; when he was awake he was usually so intense, it was treat to see him relaxed. He looked so boyish and handsome that Joss's heart constricted in her chest.

Joss heard a noise and turned her head to see Fusco shuffling quietly in.

"I didn't wake you did, I?" he said keeping his voice down to just above a whisper. "I just wanted to check on you guys before I turned in for the night."

Joss shook her head. "Nope, it's good to see you, partner."

"Tall, Dark and Alpha's down for the count, I see," Fusco nodded in John's direction.

"Yeah, he's in a lot worse shape than he let on earlier when everyone was here, Mike has to pump him full of some heavy duty painkillers. He'll probably sleep away most of the rest of the week." Joss's thumb was now vigorously rubbing the back of John's hand and Fusco as usual picked up on how agitated she was.

"He'll be alright, Joss," he said as he lay a comforting hand on her arm. "Mike will fix him right up."

Joss looked at Fusco sadly, tears forming in her eyes. "Someday Mike may not be able to fix him," she whispered.

Fusco grabbed a tissue from the box on the night stand next to bed and swiped at Joss's tears. "Hey, hey, stop this. I know Danger is his middle name, not to mention his first and last names, but he's the best. You have to trust he'll be OK. 'Sides it not like he gets in epic demon fights every day."

"You know why I made that silly bet? I knew that you would be OK as long you were together. That's why I made the bet on _both_ of you. I know you'll keep each other safe."

Joss smiled up at her partner through her tears. "Thanks Fusco." She swiped at her tears. "Don't mind me, the drugs have made me maudlin."

"After the day you've had, you're entitled." Fusco giving her eyes one last dab with the tissue before he tossed in the wastebasket. "Get some rest, partner."

Joss smiled and nodded, not trusting herself to say anything. Fusco patted her arm and left.

Joss turned her head back to her mate once again and watched him sleep. She smiled as she thought of Fusco's faith in them as a couple. She thought back to those awful few hours she had spent as a captive of Yatzil and realized that she never once thought that John wouldn't get her out. She knew John would come for her no matter what. Even when she had been in agony, she knew he would come.

"Who knew Fusco was so smart?" She giggled to herself. Then she closed her eyes and let sleep take her while she still held fast to her mate's hand.

 **The End**

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 **Thanks for reading everyone! I have to give one last shout out to nicdvidmaker for taking time out her busy life to beta this story for me. I also want to thank all the Mi Amore ladies and the lovely people on the Careese shipper page on FB for all their** **encouragement.**

 **I also want to give a big thanks to all the guest reviewers since I can't respond to them directly. Every review is pure motivation to me and I can not express my appreciation enough to all of you who take the time to leave one.**

 **I'm working on the next fic, but it's fighting me tooth and nail. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before it's ready to go. I will be back!**


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